PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Travis Kazarian (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rock Esnar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kazarian
vs
Esnar

200 cm
25
270 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

205 cm
25
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Travis Kazarian!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rock Esnar!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Luis Engracia and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Kazarian with that takedown attempt.

Esnar scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Esnar wants to pass to mount but Kazarian is defending the position.
Kazarian is pressing down on Esnar's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Esnar wants to stand and escape but instead Kazarian has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Esnar can do anything to dispel that myth.
Esnar seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Kazarian postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazarian throwing strikes from guard but Esnar blocks nicely.
Kazarian content to stall in guard here.
Kazarian is looking to work some ground and pound but Esnar has wrist control.
Esnar keeping moving, preventing Kazarian from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kazarian controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Esnar looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kazarian is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esnar working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kazarian.
Esnar really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kazarian. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kazarian throws an elbow that misses. Esnar uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Kazarian's guard. Nice move by Esnar!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Esnar is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Travis Kazarian wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Kazarian leaves Esnar with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Esnar fails with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kazarian fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Esnar avoids it really well and circles away.

Kazarian looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Kazarian pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Esnar is keeping the position for now.
Kazarian missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kazarian pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Esnar is keeping the position for now.
Kazarian throws a big right hand that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esnar utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kazarian wants to control from the top but Esnar keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kazarian accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kazarian trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kazarian throwing strikes but missing.
Kazarian throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Esnar works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kazarian throws a big right hand that misses.
Kazarian chips away with some ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Esnar avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Travis Kazarian dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Esnar will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kazarian shoots in looking for a takedown but Esnar manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kazarian's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Kazarian leaves Esnar with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Kazarian closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Kazarian lands in his opponent's guard.
Kazarian throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Esnar works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kazarian throws a big right hand that misses.
Kazarian trying to control but Esnar is working from the bottom.
Kazarian works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazarian thows a huge punch but Esnar dodges it nicely.
Kazarian scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Kazarian wants to take a breather but Esnar is having none of it.
Esnar wants to get back to full guard.
Esnar keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Esnar is refusing to be controlled, as Kazarian sits in half guard.
Esnar regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Kazarian.
Kazarian scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kazarian working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Esnar's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kazarian pushing down on Esnar's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Kazarian throwing shots but Esnar is blocking nicely.
Esnar is staying active underneath Kazarian, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Kazarian throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kazarian works his foot free and advances to mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kazarian working Esnar over with strikes here.
Kazarian misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Kazarian cracks Esnar with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kazarian sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kazarian lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Kazarian putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Kazarian is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Esnar can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Kazarian with shots to the head and body - Esnar looks very uncomfortable down there.
Esnar prevents any damage by holding on tight.
Kazarian with shots to the head and body - Esnar looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kazarian lands a heavy elbow.
Kazarian looking to finish Esnar with some ground and pound. This is bad for Esnar!
Kazarian raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kazarian looking to finish Esnar with some ground and pound. This is bad for Esnar!
Kazarian breaks from Esnar's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Kazarian landing strikes from the mount and Esnar is in trouble!
Kazarian lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Esnar is breathing heavily.
Kazarian with the ground and pound from mount.
Kazarian working the ground and pound effectively.
Kazarian punching from mount but Esnar doing a good job of avoiding damage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kazarian punishing his opponent with strikes.
Kazarian raining down hammerfists from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Travis Kazarian dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Kazarian tries to bum rush Esnar with a series of wild strikes but Esnar uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Esnar shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kazarian sprawls well. Kazarian wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Esnar gets slowly back to his feet.
Kazarian tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Esnar was well out of range. Poor timing from Kazarian.
Kazarian shoots in looking for a takedown. Esnar tries to sprawl out of it but Kazarian keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Esnar manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Esnar shoots in for a takedown but Kazarian shows good takedown defense.
Esnar keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kazarian shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Esnar sprawls well. Esnar wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kazarian gets slowly back to his feet.
Kazarian fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Esnar avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Travis Kazarian. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kazarian shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Kazarian was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Kazarian landing strikes from the mount and Esnar is in trouble!
Kazarian cracks Esnar with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kazarian looking to finish with strikes here!
Esnar wants to control but Kazarian is having none of it.
Kazarian misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esnar tries to hold on but Kazarian postures up.
Esnar avoids a series of strikes thrown by Kazarian.
Esnar in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Travis Kazarian overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kazarian misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kazarian trying to control but Esnar is having none of it.
Esnar takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kazarian lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Kazarian connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Kazarian scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Esnar?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kazarian throwing strikes here but Esnar is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kazarian in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kazarian scoring with strikes but Esnar is staying in there.
Kazarian with good strikes from the mount here!
Kazarian lands a heavy elbow.
Esnar is trying desperately to improve position.
Kazarian lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Kazarian lands a heavy elbow.
Kazarian with a couple of short strikes.
Esnar is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Travis Kazarian is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kazarian is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Kazarian working the ground and pound effectively.
Kazarian with good strikes from the mount here!
Kazarian looking to control and managing it successfully.
Kazarian landing strikes from the mount and Esnar is in trouble!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kazarian in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kazarian lands a big shot there that rocks Esnar but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Travis Kazarian showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kazarian has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Travis Kazarian!
A relieved looking Travis Kazarian thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.